Which to use
“Rabe” and “Rade” are a confusable German pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #20,029
- “Rabe” frequency rank
- #43,432
- “Rade” frequency rank
- 63461
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | Rabe | Rade |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | schwarze Vogelart, der Kolkrabe | wilde Ackerpflanze |
Where the eye mixes Rabe and Rade
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 3 letters in sequence. Rabe and Rade follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (CVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Why the eye confuses Rabe with Rade
A purely visual mix-up. Rabe ([ˈʁaːbə]) and Rade ([ˈʁaːdə]) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they differ by a single letter - b in “Rabe” becomes d in “Rade”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 63461, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
Rabe is recorded at frequency rank #20,029, classified as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaːbə]. Rade is at rank #43,432, tagged as anoun, pronounced [ˈʁaːdə].
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 63461, this pair ranks #676,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of Rabe vs Rade
Shared letters: aer. Private to "Rabe": b. Private to "Rade": d.
"Rabe" · 4 letters · shape CVCV · "Rade" · 4 letters · shape CVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "Rabe" for "Rade" ever safe?
Which is more common, "Rabe" or "Rade"?
Useful next steps
Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.
- Full dictionary entry for "Rabe" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "Rade" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #676,053 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "Rabe" and "Rade" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "Rade vs Ramen". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #676,053 of 2,006,359 scored German pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.